By Long Beach State freshman forward Natelle El Mokbel led The Beach to a 2-1 upset victory over the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine with her 88th-minute game-winning goal at George Allen Field on Thursday, Aug. 14, to kick off the regular season.
A costly yellow card on Hawaii’s sophomore defender, Solala Nasu, led to a Beach free kick taken by freshman midfielder Ameera White with just three minutes left in the game.
White chipped her pass inside the box to a soaring Mokbel before the freshman forward headed in the game-winning goal at the top of the net, past the flying fingertips of the Bows junior goalkeeper Brianna Chirpich, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
“I went for the run and the ball was perfect, I just head it and it was amazing,” Mokbel said. “Game-winning goal in front of our fans, first game… It was such an amazing feeling.”
As Big West regular season champions in 2024, The Bows enter the 2025 season as the favorites to win the Big West conference, picked by the league’s coaches in the Big West preseason poll. Although LBSU defeated its conference opponent, Hawaii, on Thursday night, the match did not count as an official in-conference game.
LBSU and Hawaii both entered the game with a spark of opening day energy. It was a fast-paced game on both sides of the ball, as the screaming Bows bench did not sit for the whole 90-minute contest.
The Beach’s junior forward Radisson Banks silenced the Bows after scoring a chip shot above Hawaii’s 2024 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, sophomore Kennedy Justin, in minute 14.
“To get that first one in the first game just gave me a lot of confidence,” Banks said. “I saw the keeper was out, just tried to chip her, and the rest was history.”
Hawaii did not stay silent for long, as the Bows’ senior forward Krista Peterson found sophomore midfielder Leila Kahoano open just outside the box to fire a goal to the bottom left of the net, tying the game in the 20th minute before the Mokbel magic broke the long-standing tie and ended the Bows’ night.
“This was a very tough first game,” LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “I give them a lot of credit for going on the road and playing the toughest schedule that they play.”
The Beach must try to maintain their momentum as they welcome No. 19 University of Texas on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m.
“We just got to regroup… and then we just got tomorrow, watch film, review this, and then get ready watching whatever Texas did tonight, and we’ll be ready for Sunday, seven o’clock,” Ingrassia said.
Editor’s notes:
- Added the date of the game at 12:18 p.m. on Aug. 15
- Reworked the final sentence in paragraph five for additional clarity at 12:18 p.m. on Aug. 15.
